This invention relates to generating a customized web site. In particular, the invention relates to methods and systems for generating customized web sites for end users based upon grouping of users into user communities of similar interests, background, or other grouping characteristics.
The Internet and its related technologies have made large stores of information available to nearly anyone in the last few years. Various methods have been employed to present that information to its intended audience in the most convenient and efficient ways possible.
Some information, however, may be intended for a very specific audience, or community of end users of that information, and not intended for others. Providers of such information often wish to segregate such information from other users for which the information is not intended. Various means have been employed for segregating content, including the use of user authentication procedures to determine whether a user has been permitted access to the information.
However, existing means presently do not provide the capability to seamlessly provide several different levels or groupings of content access utilizing a single base of content. In some efforts to provide such groupings of content, users are still confronted with links to material they do not have access to, even though they may have been permitted access to the overall web site containing that content. The present invention seeks to solve this and others problems in the field.
In one respect, what is described is a system for generating a web site. The system comprises a web server to service HTTP requests received from users. A database is connected to the web server, where the database determines which particular user community the requesting user is assigned to. A dataset of stored branch description files describes particular web site structures to be used for each of the user communities.
In another respect, what is described is a method for generating a web site. The method comprises the steps of accepting a HTTP request from a requesting user, directing a web server to prompt the requesting user to submit a username and a password, performing a lookup of the username in a database of user communities and usernames assigned to each user community and selecting a branch description file specific to the user community to which the requesting user is assigned.
In yet another respect, what is described is a computer readable medium on which is embedded a program. The embedded program comprises components that execute the above method.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate these and other advantages and benefits of various embodiments of the invention upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the below-listed drawings.